Archive for the ‘Kerala’ Category

In 1980, a group of four Naxalites from Andhra Pradesh entered into southern tip of Maharashtra which is now part of the ‘Dandakarnya region’. They were followed by six other small groups who went to Bastar, which was with Madhya Pradesh then. The mission of the teams was to spread the Karimnagar/Adilabad Movement in those areas.

After nearly three decades of sustained and well-orchestrated squad work, the Maoists are now a force to reckon with and are holding a parallel government in the ‘liberated zones.’ They have a support base of over 1.5 lakh with their own People’s Liberation Guerilla Army and people’s militia. (Details from People’s March, January 2006 issue).

This piece of information is enough to send a chill down the spine of Kerala police because there are enough indications that the Maoists in the state are trying to replicate what they had done in Dandakaranya and many other parts of the country.

The fact that senior leaders of the CPI (Maoists) from Andhra — politburo member Sende Raja Mouli, Tamil Nadu state secretary Sunderamurthy and central committee member Malli Raja Reddy — had made vists to the state is enough reason for the police to press the panic button. Raja Reddy, who was picked up by the Andhra police from a hideout in Ernakulam district, had told the media that his mission was to build the party in Kerala and prepare its people for a revolution.

Kerala has the history of high-profile Naxalite activities which include annihilation of class enemies, attacks on police stations, taking officials as hostage and public trial of ‘corrupt’ government servants. Of late, their activities have been confined to more symbolic protests like attacking offices of the Asian Development Bank and retail outlets of big Indian companies.

The CPI-ML (Naxalbari) and the CPI (Maoist), the two Maoist outfits in Kerala, have a very limited presence in the state. There are only a handful of CPI (Maoists) activists in Kerala who were keeping a low profile till now. The outfit came under the scanner after the arrest of Raja Reddy. The arrest points to the fact that they have been engaged in underground activities of organising people from various sectors like migrant labourers, tribals and landless people.

That the Maoists would wait patiently for the right opportunity to strike is evident from their documents on protracted people’s war. The document on ‘Urban Perspective’ details how to operate in cities where the ‘enemies’ are in full control. “In such a situation, where enemy is stronger, we cannot have a short-term approach of direct confrontation in order to achieve quick results,” the document says.

It further addes that the cadres should “avoid engaging the enemy” and that “we should act chiefly on the defensive.” The aim of the initial phase of people’s war, it said, would be protecting, preserving, consolidating and expanding the party forces.

It also calls for forming legal and open mass organisations and to have secret party cells working underground. The document asks the cadres to actively engage in festivals like Durga Puja and sneak into sports clubs and gymnasiums.

How far the Maoists have penetrated into the Kerala society is yet to be acsertained. There are many who believe that the presence of the Maoists in Kerala is only negligible and is blown out of proportion by the media and the police.

They believe that innumerable splits in the movement have made it only a symbolic presence. Lack of leaders have incapacitated the activities of CPI (Maoists), which is now dependent on squads from Andhra Pradesh for carrying out the activities. Many of those who led the movement have now disowned it.

But the police are not taking any chances. They arrested P Govindan Kutty, the editor of People’s March, the unofficial organ of the CPI (Maoists) and raided its office.“Globalisation has made the lives of the people all over the country miserable and there are revolts from various corners. Maoists are offering resistannce at some places. But the government is raising the Maoist bogey to suppress all mass agitations,” says K N Ramachandran, general secretary of the CPI-ML (Kanu Sanyal) group.

Ramachandran’s reading is that the Maoists do not have the mass base without which no revolution is possible. And their activities amount to anarchism. “The Maoists have their base mainly among the adivasis. But Kerala is not Dandakaranya. What is needed now is a militant mass movement,” he says.

M N Ravunni, the general convener of Poraattom, believes that mass base alone would not suffice. “The CPM and the CPI have the mass base which does not serve any purpose. We need to revolutionise the masses.” Ravunni challenges the contention that people’s war is not possible in Kerala. “It is being tried even in USA. Then why Kerala should be an exception?”

Earlier ‘actions’ of the Naxalites in Kerala were devoid of any purpose. “Actions like attacking police stations were not linked to the Maoist military line. But now the Maoists have a clearer idea,” he says.

CPI-ML (Naxalbari) has some difference of opinion with CPI (Maoists). “But we have a friendly relationship. We want a principled unity of all revoutionaries in India and some moves in this regard is taking place at national and international level.

Both CPI (Maoists) and CPI-ML (Naxalbari) are the members of Revolutionary International Movement (RIM) and Co-ordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organisation of South Asia (CCOMPOSA)

PALAKKAD: “Porattam,” a revolutionary organisation, has condemned the arrest of the Maoist leader Malla Raji Reddy of Andhra Pradesh from Kochi.

In a statement here on Thursday, Porattam state convener Mundur Ravunni said the arrest was to satisfy the interests of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the State. It was also for protecting some narrow political interests in Kerala.

The statement also condemned the arrest of P. Govindan Kutty, Editor and Publisher of People’s March.

The search in the office of the publication by the police was an attack on the freedom of press.

KOCHI: The city police have swung to action following the arrest of a top Maoist leader from the city suburbs.

Malla Raji Reddy was arrested by a special team of the Andhra Pradesh police on Monday near Little Flower Hospital, Angamali, on Monday.

The police have now let out a notice to all contractors employing labourers from the other States to provide photos and other identification documents of labourers to the Special Branch office.

This instruction is in the light of detecting support base for political extremists among the migrant labourer community, said a release issued by the office of the City Police Commissioner.

Hotels and other institutions that employ migrant workers should also file details of their employees with the Special Branch. Strict action will be initiated against those who fail to comply with the instruction, the release said.

The public have been urged to pass on information regarding anyone found suspicious to the Kochi City Special Branch at telephone number 2394650.

Thiruvananthapuram • In a Nadigram-style operation minus the violence, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) activists drove out tribal people from Government land atop the Munnar hills today, thwarting their move for a permanent settlement.

Tribal families, who had pitched tents on 1,500 acres allotted to Hindustan Newsprint for its captive plantation at Chinnakkanal, were caught unawares as the CPM cadres staged the takeover operation this morning. The activists, backed by local party reinforcements later in the day, tore down tents and put party flags, declaring the success of the operation.

Local people said tension prevailed in the area since tribal activists have threatened to recover the land and not to leave until the Government honored its commitment to distribute land to all landless Adivasi families in the State.

Tribal families, including children, had occupied the land under the banner of the Adivasi Punaradhivasa Samrakshana Samithy (tribal rehabilitation protection committee).

The provocation had come as the fallout of the deal struck between Chief Minister AK Antony and tribal leader C K Janu. At a grand function, Antony distributed title-deeds but only 540 families out of the 798 families got the land.

“They had waited for more than five years for the land. The Government had forced them to resort to direct action. They have run out of patience and there’s no question of returning without getting the land”, said tribal solidarity leader C P Shaji.

However, the local CPM leaders alleged that Congress and Communist Party of India had instigated the tribal people to occupy Government land so they could grab the land once the dust settled.

Tribal agitation has traversed a chequered course in Kerala. Janu had led many families on a 48-day sit-in in front of the Government Secretariat soon after Antony came to power in 2001.

The agitation ended with Antony agreeing to a seven-point demand, mainly five acres to each landless tribal family and a rehabilitation package to ensure that the land was not alienated.

However, the pact suffered a setback after Janu led a tribal band to the Muthanga wildlife sanctuary in the northern Wynad district two years later, leading to deaths a policeman and a tribal youth.

The most important fallout of agitations has been that both the Government and the tribal activists succeeded in shifting the focus of the nearly 50-year-old tribal struggle in Kerala from the issue of “restoration of alienated land” to one of “land for the landless tribal people”.

In April 1975, Kerala Assembly unanimously adopted the Kerala Scheduled Tribes (Restriction on Transfer of Lands and Restoration of Alienated Lands) Act, which sought to prevent the lands of the tribal people from falling into the hands of non-tribal people. The Act also sought to restore to the tribal people their previously alienated lands.

Kozhikode: A retail outlet at Chakkorathukulam on Kannur Road here came under attack on Saturday.

A group of persons, who have not been identified, attacked the 2,000-sq.ft Spencer’s Daily outlet of the RPG group on the ground floor of Elite Arcade at around 6.30 p.m. during a power failure. Over 20 glass panels of the store were smashed to pieces with iron rods. After carrying out the attack, the group threw notices in and around the shop warning against the entry of industrial houses into the retail sector. The notices bear the name of a fictitious organisation, Democratic Youth Movement. The police suspect that the name has been derived from those of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and the Solidarity Youth Movement, youth wing of the Jamat-e-Islami.

The police said the attack had been meticulously planned. It took place during a power failure. There were three outages in a gap of five to 10 minutes after 6 p.m. The Kerala State Electricity Board had been asked to furnish details.

The police do not suspect political parties or their affiliates of carrying out the attack.

The posters of the “Democratic Youth Movement” appeared at various places in the city a couple of days ago. Some extremist or traders’ organisation might have carried out the operation, the police say. Violent incidents had been reported in the past few months in various parts of the district during protests against the entry of retail giants.

The Nadakkavu police have registered a case. The Assistant Commissioner of Police C.M. Pradeepkumar and Nadakkavu Circle Inspector Sreeraj visited the retail store.

Kerala is a new haven for migrant workers from different states, especially Orissa, Bengal and Bihar besides Nepalese, especially in construction sector. For working in this sector a Keralite unskilled worker gets a minimum of Rs. 150 for 8 hours including one hour rest. For concreting and other works this goes up to Rs. 200 or more. A skilled worker gets anything more than Rs. 250. For overtime both are paid more wages. As a result, almost all construction contractors get migrant workers who are paid much lower wages for 10 to 14 hour work. They are forced to live in subhuman conditions. None of the major trade union centres or the state machinery give attention to this subject, so also the media. In September as two workers died and legs of one was amputated when an old building in which they were lodged by Chakolas Constructions collapsed in Kochi, as usual the contractor with the help of sub-contractor tried to hush up the matter by paying a paltry sum as compensation and threatening them to go away. The main TU centres or media did not come to their help.

It was then some of these Oriya workers contacted CPI(ML) and TUCI activists who immediately took up the issue and created conditions for the district collector to agree during negotiations to order a compensation of Rs. 3 lakhs each to the diseased and Rs. 3.5 lakhs for the worker who lost both legs. But as the workers’ relatives went to sign the agreement, vested interests including AITUC, CITU leaders intervened blocking it. Protesting against it under leadership of CPI(ML) and TUCI activists nearly 100 migrant workers marched with the dead bodies to the contractor’s house. On the way police forcefully took away the CPI(ML) and TUCI activists and put then in lock-up. The migrant workers with the dead bodies were taken forcefully to cremation ground and asked to bury the bodies. But they refused, saying that unless the arrested leaders are brought and assurance to sign the agreement is given they will not bury the bodies. So the police was forced in that night to release and bring the leaders so that the bodies could be buried. Next day the agreement was signed before the collector and full compensation amount was paid as DD.

It was a novel experience to the workers and the news spread fast. The contractors’ lobby and other vested interests were disturbed. So they came out with a story in the two leading Malayalam dailies that Maoists are infiltrating to Kerala as migrant workers and it is the ‘Maoists’ who are behind the Kochi incident when their representatives very well know the CPI(ML) and TUCI leaders who took initiative. Similarly quoting the incident of a fugitive (Maoist) activist from Tamilnadu taking shelter for few days in an Idikki town hotel, the home minister has come out with a story that police force will be strengthened as ‘Maoists’ are entering Kerala. At the same time, the LDF minister very well know that when Raja Mouli, a CC member of CPI (Maoist) was kidnapped by AP police from Kollam in Kerala and later ‘encountered’ to death at Ananthpur in AP, not even a poster in protest appeared from the side of the ‘Maoists’ anywhere in the state. Such is their strength. The Maoist leader was extremely secretive and did not know anything about Kerala. Otherwise shouting few slogans would have attracted people and Kerala police, preventing his kidnapping. Even if he was arrested it would have become difficult for AP police to ‘encounter’ him.

The Kerala police very well know who is bringing out People’s March from Eranakulam district and about the handful of other ‘Maoists’ in the state. While no action is taken against them, the ‘Maoist’ bogey is raised to suppress the people’s movements organised by the CPI (ML) and class/mass organisations led by it, as well as by the dalit and adivasiorganisations who are leading some of the major land struggles. The very same forces, the CPI (M) state leadership along with other LDF parties as well as the vested interests who forced the chief minister to abandon all actions to take back the illegally occupied land from Tatas, Harrisons, etc. are now raising ‘Maoist’ bogey so that the Mafia can continue to occupy the land and contractors can fleece the migrant workers.

Almost a similar incident had happened when more than a lakh of migrant construction workers in UAE, predominantly Malayalees, got themselves organised with the help of some political activists working there in different jobs and staged a mass protest leading to UAE authorities taking action against some contractors and granting many rights to them. It was a mass action which the ‘Maoists’ can never think of planning. Still an AP minister announced that it was the ‘Maoists’ from his state who organised it. This bluffing was repeated in a number of newspapers and channels.

The ‘Maoist’ bogey is used by ruling political leaders, state machinery and media to help the ruling system to suppress Communist Revolutionary forces and people’s movements like Bush is using ‘war on terror’ to commit aggressions and pursue all heinous acts to establish US hegemony. Remember the foolish statement of Brinda Karat, the CPI (M) leader, that it was the ‘Maoists’ coming by Bay of Bengal and later Hoogly River in ships who organised the Nandigram uprising! The state knows very well that the CPI (Maoist) is a divided force today, its activities have dwindled in AP and it is almost non-existent in vast majority of the states. Still ‘Maoists’ are given free publicity, and a bogey is created to suppress people’s movements.

T’PURAM: After 45 days of rigorous training in the hills of Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, they are back in the state with skills to counter all sorts of naxalite or terrorist attacks.A team of 31 selected police personnel ranking from constables to assistant commandants, drawn from various armed reserve units, had undergone one-and-a-half month training at the College of Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare (CCTJW) in Chhattisgarh to form part of a commando force of the state police.

”We were intensively trained on all aspects of warfare and survival in the jungle, which ranged from firing to catching snakes. Besides physical training, we were also made mentallyprepared for contingencies during the course of training,” said Ajith Kumar V.G., a sub-inspector with Special Armed Police who was part of the 31- member team.

Besides Keralites, police personnel from states like Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Orissa are being trained at the institute. The Kerala team was led by Assistant Commandant Ajith Kumar B.

”The most interesting part was overnight stay in tents on the hills. It had helped us have a first-hand experience on the living conditions in the jungle,” he recalled.

The batch that left here on August 27 returned on Monday. Another team led by an Assistant SP would also be sent for training soon.

”As of now, major terrorist or naxalite threats do not exist here. However we need to be prepared as there are reports of terrorist activities moving towards the South. As part of this, more police officials of the state are being trained at leading institutions outside the state so that we can have a strong commando team,” DGP Raman Srivastava said.

On the lack of facilities in Kerala to polish such skills acquired by trained police personnel, Srivastava said that the necessary facilities would be set up in the state for the purpose.

Though the initial plan was to get the team trained by the Greyhound, antiextremist commando team of Andhra Pradesh, the state police had to drop it owing to the exorbitant fee – Rs 30,000 per person and 10,000 rounds of ammunition (each costing Rs 20) for each person. Whereas, CCTJW is charging only Rs 5,000 person.

The warfare institute, which is situated about 140 kilometres from Raipur, was started in 2005 with the aim of providing intensive training to security personnel in the state. The institute later started offering training to police personnel from other states

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept. 19 (PTI): The Kerala Police has tightened vigil along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu borders following reports that Maoist leader Sundaramurthy from the neighbouring state visited Idukki district in Kerala before his arrest in July last.

Sundaramurthy, who was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police, was learnt to have stayed in Nedumkandam, Santhanpara and Parathode, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told the Kerala Assembly today.

He said a native of Vavunia in Sri Lanka, identified as Sadaratinam, was also held from Nedumkandam in Idukki district last month for not carrying required travel documents.

Considering reports of the visit of TN Maoists, having links with Sri Lankan terrorist groups, to Idukki district, police have been asked to enhance vigil on the state borders, the minister said in a reply.

Security has also been stepped up across the state, based on the central intelligence alert in the wake of the recent Hyderabad blasts, he said.

Police have been instructed to closely monitor foreigners visiting the state in general and Pakistan citizens in particular.

Look out circulars have been issued to airports and sea ports and police special branch has been asked to strictly check hotels where foreigners are staying, he said.

4 July 2007The Kerala High Court has dismissed a petition filed by former DIG P Vijayan, a third accused in the naxalite Varghese murder case.Justice V Ramkumar dismissed the petition filed by the former police officer, challenging the order of CBI Special Court, Ernakulam, of June 8, 2007, dismissing his plea for discharge in the case.

Mr Justice Ramkumar observed that the affidavit sworn to and the extra-judicial confession by the first accused in the case could not be eschewed or discarded as worthless shred of evidence.He also observed that in a country where the rule of law was supreme and courts existed for doing justice to mankind and truth could be unravelled through an impartial, blemishless and faultless investigation, criminal trial alone was the answer.”I see no ground to interfere with the order passed by the trial court,” he added.

According to the prosecution, naxalite Varghese, who was allegedly killed in a police encounter on February 18, 1970, was shot dead by the first accused, a CRPF Constable Ramachandran Nair, who is now no more. He was ordered by the then Dy SP Laxmana and then DIG P Vijayan to shoot Varghese.The case was investigated by the CBI and the final report was laid before the Special CBI Court, Ernakulam, on December 11, 2002.Related postLabels: Kerala, NEWS

Special CorrespondentKOZHIKODE: Four persons, reported to be activists of the Adivasi Samara Sangham having links with the Naxalite outfit CPIML Naxalbari,’ were arrested for allegedly attacking the house of a priest in Kuppadi, near Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad, in the early hours of Friday. Two of them are women.

The police said a group of nearly 15 activists of the Adivasi Samara Sangham attacked A.K. Varghese’s house at 3.30 a.m. on Friday. The gang is believed to have used weapons to break open the front door.

They destroyed household utensils, a motorbike and broke the windowpanes, the police said . However, the priest, his wife and children were spared.

Before leaving, the group left behind a poster that said Varghese was responsible for sending “our brother Babu to jail though the offence he had allegedly committed was stealing some food.” The attackers escaped by the time neighbours reached the priest’s house.

A police team led by a Sub-Inspector of Police took into custody of four persons, including two women, from Kuppadi. Assistant Sub-Inspector K.J. Joy suffered a fracture on his hand after he was hit with an iron rod while making the arrest.The attack on the house of the priest is believed to be in retaliation to the arrest, in 1993, of Babu, a resident of a colony in Kuppadi.He is now undergoing imprisonment for the alleged offence.http://www.hindu.com/2007/06/16/stories/2007061654840500.htmLabels: CPI-ML Naxalbari, Kerala, NEWS

Monday, June 11, 2007Kochi, June 10: The CBI special court here has directed two former senior police officers to appear before the court on June 16 when charges would be framed against them in connection with the death of Naxalite leader A Varghese in 1970.

Varghese, who police claimed had died in an ‘encounter’ 37 years ago in Thirunelli in Wynad district, was in fact murdered, according to CBI, which investigated the case.

CBI special court judge P Chandrasekhara Pillai directed B Vijayan and K Lakshmana, who retired as DGP and IGP respectively, to be present in the court on June 16 when the charges against them will be read out. The court will also decide when to start witness examination.The plea of Vijayan and Lakshmana to discharge them from the case was rejected by the court on Friday.Former CRPF constable Ramachandran Nair, the first accused in the case, died in November last year.

The case according to CBI is that on February 18, 1970, Naxal leader Varghese was shot dead by Ramachandran Nair allegedly at the instigation Vijayan and Lakshmana, the then DIG and Dy SP respectively of Kozhikode.

Wynad district was the helm of Naxal activities and Varghese was accused in many Naxal attacks, especially in police stations and had been evading arrest.

CBI stated that Varghese was arrested, brought to CRPF camp at Thirunelli and shot.However, police claimed that Varghese died in police encounter which was confirmed by the Kozhikode Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) who conducted the autopsy.The Mananthavady police, in whose jurisdiction Thirunelli falls, closed the case as police ‘encounter’.

After a lapse of 29 years, in 1999, Ramachandran Nair, who had retired from service, approached the Kerala High Court with a prayer seeking inquiry into the death of Varghese, which, according to him, was not a police encounter but was instigated allegedly by Vijayan and Lakshmana. Nair filed an affidavit in the court to the effect that he shot Varghese, who was blindfolded and tied to a tree. He fired only one bullet and Varghese died.

The High Court then heard the state government, CBI and the petitioner.The government stuck to its stand that Varghese had died in a police encounter and sought a judicial probe.

The court refused the government’s plea for judicial probe and directed the CBI to inquire the matter on January 21, 1999.CBI, Delhi, took up the investigation and filed first information report (chargesheet) before Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ernakulam, in March 2002.

However, as a result of the petition moved by Lakshmana, proceedings in the lower court were stayed. On April 4, 2007, the High Court rejected Lakshmana’s petition and directed the CBI Special court, Kochi, to proceed with the trial.There are 71 witnesses in the prosecution side, key eyewitness being Hanifa, a former CRPF constable at Thirunelli.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Central secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML) K.N. Ramachandran has said that his party will launch intense agitations against the proposed `Smart City’ project in Ernakulam and all other Special Economic Zone (SEZ) projects in the State. Talking to The Hindu here on Friday, Mr Ramachandran said in the media euphoria that was being created in the name of `successful completion’ of the Smart City negotiations, the State Government was cleverly concealing the fact that the project area would be declared as SEZ.

It was now well known that as per the SEZ Act of 2005, any region declared as a SEZ would be like a `foreign country’ within the country. Most of the laws of the land were not applicable to such regions. They would work as per the wishes of the profit-making multi-national companies, Mr Ramachandran alleged .Trade union rightsWhen his attention was drawn to the reported statement of Labour Minister P.K. Gurudasan that the Government would insist on trade union rights within the SEZ, the CPI(ML) leader said these were `irresponsible statements’ being made by the mainstream Left Democratic Front (LDF) leaders in order to cover up their betrayal of the commitment to the people.

The SEZ Act was a Central legislation and no amendment had been made to it so far. Then how could the State Government deviate from it? he asked.The LDF Government took a similar position in the controversies regarding the Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan. They had then argued that they would not accept several conditions of the ADB.

But the conditions of the ADB were the same for all the States, he said.The newly-elected State secretary of the CPI(ML) P.J. James said the party supporters would take out a march to the spot where the proposed Smart City area would come up, within a couple of days. The party cadres would also physically remove the meters on public taps if the Government took such a step as per the dictates of the ADB.Surrendering to ADBThe CPI(ML) leaders said surrendering to the dictates of the ADB and giving sanction to the projects like SEZ and Smart City, the LDF Government led by V.S. Achuthanandan established that it was moving in a direction totally opposed to the approaches of the first Communist Government in Kerala in 1957So this Government had no moral or political right to celebrate the 50th year of the first Communist Ministry, they said.They said the party would also launch agitations for the release of prisoners who had completed 14 years of imprisonment

Saturday, April 7, 2007Kannur (Kerala): The dust of Nandigram has not settled yet and there’s trouble brewing for the Left government in Kerala over land aquisition.

The state government which had bought land in the Aralam farm to help landless tribals now plans to evict them and the adivasis are now up in arms.

“We will not leave this land come what may. My grandfather, father and I were born here and our blood is part of this soil,” said leader of the adivasis, Moopan.

At the centre of the conflict is 7,500 acres of Aralam farm purchased by the state government from the Centre to resettle tribals.For this, the state government spent Rs 42 crore from funds allocated for tribal welfare.But now it says land allocation would be possible only if all those living there are evicted and the adivasis feel that the hidden agenda of the CPI-M is behind this move.

In the year 2001, the Congress-led government issued an order saying all adivasis holding less than one acre of land will be given land inside the farm.

But the present Left government says only those with less than one-fifth of an acre will be eligible for allotment. This, many allege, would leave a vast tract of fertile land with the government.

“Our policy is to give land first to those who don’t have even one cent of land,” said Minister for Home of government of Kerala, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.The Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha says many of the encroachers are CPI-M workers waiting for orders to evict other tribals.

“The CPI-M has already brought in party-backed goons into this farm. They are spreading terror among the natives here. In the name of allocating land, the government will give land to their supporters,” said Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha activist, Sreeraman Koyyon.

As the adivasis gear up for the battle ahead, Aralam is all set to become the next flash-point in the struggle for land after Nandigram.Labels: Kerala, NEWS

Monday, March 26, 2007Members of revolutionary youth organization in Keralam attacked the Thrissur corporation secretary who is in charge of implementation of ADB (Asian Development Bank) agreement on Thrissur Corporation on the martyr day of Bhagat Singh. A group of youths approached the corporation secretary and one gave him a pamphlet while others smashed the official vehicles, wrote slogans of ADB GO BACK in the vehicles and pour black paint on his name board. Mean time, other section distributed pamphlets in the just outside the same compound. They shouted slogans against the imperialist agreements especially against ADB agreement, distributed pamphlets and dispersed before the arrival of huge contingent of police forces.Click on images for large high resolution images

There is a widespread dissatisfaction among the Kerala people against the dual stand of LDF, who took a stand against ADB agreement when they were in the opposition and when they came into rule they have given red carpet welcome for ADB and other imperialist institutions and programs.

The press release given by RYO blamed the Chief Minister Achuthanandan who had an image of hero of people’s struggles while he was the opposition leader, showed his real face of an imperialist servant. Now his government is going forward with all sorts of imperialist policies despite the strong protest from the progressive and democratic section of the Keralam. Instead of collecting tax from the defaulting plantation monopolies and other imperialist compradors which comes approximately 10000 crores now the Government is taking 1200 crore rupees from the World Bank for rural water supply program and now from thousand crores from ADB also. This is purely an imperialist conspiracy to burden the people with huge loans and exploiting them. This shows that there is no difference between the policies of LDF Government and Congress, BJP governments. Nandigram is a latest example of this.

Now the Left governments become dearer to the imperialists as they ensure efficient implementation of imperialist programs by effectively hushing up the rebellious sounds of the society with the help of their well organized goons and other machinery when they are in rule. All the ruling class left parties like CPI, CPI (M) and their youth organizations degenerated to the good servants of imperialist programs.

A section of intelligentsia is hopeful about a mere reformation of the conditions of the ADB and World Bank agreements. It will only serve the exploitation of the finance capital. Interestingly the same arguments were brought forwarded by the CPI (M) for bringing the FDI in Bengal and Keralam. We have to abolish all sort of imperialist capital from the Indian society for the well being of the toiling masses of our country. In this situation we have to follow the glowing path of anti imperialist struggles opened by the legendary heroes like Bhagat Singh and his comrades to defeat ADB and all the other imperialist institutions, agreements and programs.

Though this is only a symbolic struggle RYO calls on the youths of Keralam to unleash militant struggles like the roaring struggles of central and eastern parts of rural India to kick out imperialist capital from our country. This protest is only a small step to this direction. RYO secretary com. Ijas warns the LDf government that if they are planning to repeat Nandigram in Keralam, repressing democratic struggles with police bullets and cellars we will fight back against the imperialist policies with immense courage draw from the heroic struggles of Bhagat Singh and others.Labels: Kerala, RYO

Friday, March 23, 2007CPI(M)’s Kerala ADB Loan:– V ShankarThere has always been much talk of the struggle between Kerala line vs Bengal line in the Communist Party of India (Marxist). This time we have, not a struggle between Kerala vs Bengal but a controversy between the active pro-liberalisation ‘young turks’ and the conventional, passive pro-liberalisation old guards in the CPI(M).

After a period of lull following the factional reconciliation over the choice of VS Achuthanandan as Kerala’s new CPM Chief Minister, the rift between the Achuthanandan and Vijayan factions has again started growing.

Pinarayi Vijayan, Politburo member and state secretary of the CPI(M) has earned the dubious distinction of perhaps being the first ever Politburo member of a Communist Party facing a CBI enquiry for corruption charges in the history of the Communist movement in the country. A recent Kerala High Court judgement has ordered a CBI enquiry into the SNC Lavalin scandal; in which Pinarayi Vijayan stands accused of having taken kickbacks to favour Lavalin over others offering a better deal, during his tenure as Power Minister in the previous LDF regime in the state. VS, who had campaigned hard against Coca Cola and ADB loan during the Assembly election last summer, now finds himself in the unenviable position of defending a huge $222.2 million (Rs. 995 crore) loan agreement his government has signed for the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDB) with the same ADB.

VS and his supporters claim that the agreement has been signed behind VS’ back on behalf of his government with the connivance of the Vijayan faction. This has resulted in an open rupture in the CPI(M) with VS supporters clashing with Vijayan supporters in VS’ native district, and even organizing a signature campaign against Vijayan – an act that amounts to indiscipline in the party. Finally, the Central Committee had to intervene to restore a semblance of unity by forming a 5-member advisory committee comprising the LDF convener as well, which is supposed to meet every week to iron out differences in running the Government. Prakash Karat has also admitted that contrary to the claims of the Vijayan faction and Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, VS was indeed kept in the dark!

In West Bengal, the Haldia Development Authority issues a land acquisition notice that takes a toll of more than half a dozen lives. The Chief Minister and all senior Party leaders first deny that such a notice was at all issued and then Buddhadeb says it was a blunder and that he has asked the district administration to ‘tear up that piece of paper’! In Kerala a loan agreement is signed with the ADB and the Chief Minister claims he did not know about it! Who is the CPI(M) trying to befool? And if indeed these claims of ‘ignorance’ are true what has happened to the tenets of collective functioning within the CPI(M)? Or will the CPI(M) now agree that MNCs, big corporate houses and international financial institutions have developed their own lobbies within CPI(M)-led governments?

No matter whether VS was in the dark or not, the ADB loan has major adverse implications for the nature of governance and social sector spending in Kerala. Prakash Karat says that the party is not against taking loan from any bank in principle, including ADB, as long as Structural Adjustment strings are not attached. The fact is that no loan or aid from such international institutions comes without direct or indirect conditionalities, but the CPI(M) naturally needs to keep alive a fiction to the contrary. ADB loans in particular are known to carry conditionalities like increased private participation, privatisation and commercialisation of public utilities, creation of a flexible labour force, etc. Finance Minister Thomas Isaac is however thrilled that the ADB conditionalities in case of the KSUDB loan are less harsh than in the case of the Kolkata Environmental Projects!

The Bank, according to Isaac, has ‘conceded’ that user charges for water will be levied from municipalities instead of individual consumers in the beginning. This is certainly not a guarantee that user charges will not be directly levied on individual users ever. Even otherwise, it does not carry any meaning because the municipalities will levy the very same user charges on the very same people in any case. How else can the municipality or the state government raise funds to repay the loan?

The first blow of the loan conditions will be in the form of liberalizing the control of Kerala Water Authority (KWA). The process of redefining the role of KWA into an enabling regulatory framework and agency to facilitate private sector participation has already begun. The role of KWA will in future be only to ‘regulate’ the private players in their search for profit and loot of public resources like water.

The loan is also an attack on the autonomy of the state and the municipal corporations (the loan initially targets the five corporations of Kochi, Kollam, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur) that will not be allowed to prioritise their annual budgets and revenue mobilization according to their own political and economic considerations. Rather, these will be dictated by the ADB in the interests of private players and multinational corporations. Moreover, ‘consultants’ will have to be appointed – chosen not by the State but by the Bank – at a cost of $10.2 million (Rs 46 crore). The state also loses its right to have bilateral negotiations with other financial agencies.

Most importantly, the tariff and taxes will have to be increased and fixed according to the directive of the ADB. Even the people below poverty line (BPL) will not be spared. All existing street taps will now be metered with no budget for new installations.

By all indications, the fabled Kerala model of development is now giving way to ADB-driven governance. This would mean, among other things, a serious drop in social spending and greater commercialisation of critical sectors like education, health and hygiene. Ironically, the undoing of the ‘Kerala model’ gathers momentum at a time when renowned economist Prabhat Patnaik, who has been the biggest proponent of the Kerala model calling it the greatest marvel of Marxist theory and practice in India, happens to be the chairperson of the state planning board.

On December 28, 2006 more thgan 100 organisations joined hands to form the People’s Forum against ADB (PFADB) and press for annulment of the KSUDP loan. The PFADB has pointed out ADB’s dismal record in urban development as borne out in two previous ADB projects in Karnataka. It has also pointed to various possibilities of internal resource mobilisation in Kerala including tapping the state’s vast reserve of foreign exchange remittances from Keralites working abroad.

Sunday, February 18, 2007KALPETTA: The 37th anniversary of martyrdom of Naxal Varghese, the revolutionary who was killed by police in the Thirunelli forests, would be observed on Sunday.According to the district committee of the CPI-ML (Red Flag), PN Salimkumar, leader of the organisation, would hoist the flag at the martyr’s column at Ozhukkanmoola, near Mananthavadi on Sunday morning.

State leaders of the organisation PC Unni-checkan, KT Kunhikkannan, Vijayan Kuzhiveli and Kunnel Krishnan would participate in the public function to be organised at the Gandhi Park, Mananthavadi, on Sunday evening.Link